We first fell for Kai Fragrance in a Nordstrom Spa in San Francisco about 5 years ago.

At that time we hadn’t yet heard of the fragrance that would soon become a mainstream favorite but we quickly purchased a tiny vial of Kai perfume oil and used it every time we needed a little Hawaiian getaway.

Last year, the cult-favorite fragrance brand launched a new must-have product: Kai Body Butter.

Listed as one of Oprah’s Favorite things, Kai Body Butter flies off shelves faster than they can replace it. The whipped soufflé is a blend of shea butter with vitamins A, C and E and is infused with the original Kai perfume oil—an amazingly rich cream that leaves us gently smelling of Kai all day long.

Kai Body Butter can be purchased at many retail outlets or online at luckyscent.com.

This month we’ve been doing a lot of traveling.

Between volleyball tournaments and several short business trips, we’ve been on the road more days than we’ve been at home. While this makes for more catch-up chores (laundry!) than we care to think about, it’s been fun to streamline our suitcase and play with all the travel-size samples we have laying around.

The standout products of this month are Philip Kingsley Body Building Shampoo & Conditioner, available in travel-size kits called Jet Sets. The 2.5 oz chubby bottles are perfect for several days away from home (no need to ration our supply to survive four showers), and the flip-top caps are easy to open.

The body building formula left our hair full of bounce and smelling fresh.

Philip Kingsley Jet Sets are available in Body and Volume, Body and Shine, Smooth and Shiny, Soft and Shiny and Take Comfort, and can be purchased online at philipkingsley.com.

Last month we attended a very special press event in New York for the launch of the MAC Heatherette Collection.

(From left: Richie Rich, Erika, Traver Rains. Photo courtesy of ebeautydaily.com)

Along with a group of 20 other editors, we enjoyed pink champagne and hors d’oeuvres with MAC executives and the gorgeous and talented Heatherette boys.

Traver Rains and Richie Rich, the design team behind fashion label Heatherette, brought their club-kid-cool to the table in the creation of this limited-edition collection.

“Heatherette and MAC make a great partnership, because we were both founded as renegade companies,” says James Gager, Senior Vice President/Creative Director, MAC Worldwide, “Designers Richie Rich and Traver Rains reinvented that Warhol-style spirit of The Factory, and we at MAC share that collaborative attitude.” Since Heatherette’s early days, MAC has provided their often outrageous, always anticipated fashion shows with makeup and artistry support.

“For this collaboration, Richie and Traver were involved every step of the way,” says Jennifer Balbier, Senior Vice President of Product Development, MAC Worldwide. “We created iconic products that Richie uses, like Glitter and Lipglass.”

(From left: Richie Rich, James Gager, senior vice president/creative director, MAC Worldwide, Jennifer Balbier, senior vice president product development, MAC Worldwide, Traver Rains)

LIPSTICK
Traditional M·A·C lipstick formula in limited edition hot pink case.
Featuring a holographic foil decal of the Heatherette logo.
LIMITED EDITION
Lollipop Loving Clean mid-tone coral with subtle green iridescence (glaze)
Fleshpot Light neutral beige (satin)
Hollywood Nights Clean fuchsia pink (satin)
Melrose Mood Clean pastel pink (amplified)
Suggested Retail Price $14.00 U.S./$16.00 CDN

LIPGLASS
Traditional M·A·C lipglass formula in limited edition hot pink case.
Featuring a holographic foil decal of the Heatherette logo.
LIMITED EDITION
Bonus Beat Sheer yellow beige with gold pearl (frost)
Sock Hop Soft mid-tone coral (cream)
Style Minx Clean fuchsia pink (frost)
Starlet Kiss Clean pastel pink (frost)
Suggested Retail Price $14.00 U.S./$16.00 CDN

EYE SHADOW X 3
Three eye shadows in a hot pink compact with holographic foil
decal featuring the Heatherette logo.
LIMITED EDITION
Heatherette Trio 1
Mood Ring Pastel Mint Green (veluxe pearl)
Cloud Burst True black with subtle green pearl (velvet)
Hoppin’ Clean pastel peach (frost)
Suggested Retail Price $32.50 U.S./$39.00 CDN

Heatherette Trio 2
Baby Petals Pastel Pink (satin)
V.I.P. Clean mid-tone yellow pink (velvet)
Cassette Blackened eggplant purple (veluxe pearl)
Suggested Retail Price $32.50 U.S./$39.00 CDN

DUAL-EDGE EYE PENCIL
A dual-edge pencil where one of the tips provides a creamy eye liner
formula that gives a smooth, precise application in classic tradition
while the second tip offers a glitter-finished eye liner. Use separately,
as a dual line, or layer one over the other for an intense finish.
LIMITED EDITION
Black Funk/Pop Blue True black/turquoise with silver glitter
Phone Me/Text Me Charcoal grey/metallic silver with silver glitter
Nighthawk/Front Row Coffee brown/neutral peach with gold glitter
FAB Orchid/Dash Lily Jewel-tone purple/mid-tone lavender with
silver glitter
Suggested Retail Price $16.00 U.S./$19.50 CDN

GLITTER
Reflects Gold Translucent glitter with gold reflection
3D Silver Multi-reflective silver

PIGMENT
Jardin Aires Gilded peach with silver reflect glitter
Pink Pearl Mid-tone pink with blue reflection

BEAUTY POWDER
A luxurious jet-milled pressed powder providing a sheer tint with a
pearlescent finish. Specially tinted to coordinate with the shades of
the Heatherette collection. Packaged in a Hot Pink compact with
holographic foil decal featuring the Heatherette logo.
LIMITED EDITION
Smooth Harmony Medium golden bronze
Alpha Girl Pink with gold nuances
Suggested Retail Price $22.00 U.S./$26.50 CDN

LASH
A full-length upper lash featuring lush style, flirtatious
length, and Diva-style glamour. Lashes are finished
in high-shine patent. LIMITED EDITION
She’s Good
She’s Bad
Suggested Retail Price $11.00 U.S./$13.00 CDN

MAC Heatherette Collection is available beginning today at MAC locations nationwide and online at maccosmetics.com.

From the LA Daily News, Tuesday, March 18, 2008 (article by Sylvia Masuda):

BLOG, BLOG, BLOG New media form gets a voice and builds credibility in the beauty industry

Blasts of hair spray cloud the air. Hair dryers roar. Makeup artists dab, brush and paint on to models’ stone-still faces. It’s hot, it’s crammed and it smells like flowers and chemicals.

Backstage, among the artists and models at Smashbox Studios in Culver City during L.A. Fashion Week, members of the press snap photos and scribble notes.

But some are not from magazines or newspapers. They are a new, tech-smart breed of the media now welcome to venture past the runway. They’re beauty bloggers.

Anyone, from a bona fide fashion mag editor to a makeup counter junkie, can speak her mind on the latest beauty buys through a weblog. And hundreds of them do.

“Bloggers have had a huge impact on the beauty industry,” said Kristen Nelson Thibeault, vice president of business development for Total Beauty. “As the new voice in beauty, bloggers speak from the experience of the everyday woman and women are responding to that in a very positive way.”

Total Beauty, a comprehensive user-friendly library of product reviews and how-tos, flew in several of the most popular beauty bloggers from all over the country last week to report at L.A. Fashion Week.

Laurie Costanza has been posting her opinions and beauty anecdotes on her blog, Beauty’s Spot, since August. Just six months after she launched, she found herself being thrown on a plane from her home in North Carolina to sunny L.A. “If there is one thing I have discovered in all of this it is that women love to talk about their favorite products and get inside scoop on other women’s favorites,” Costanza said.

Big-name beauty businesses now split their time working with magazine editors and bloggers. Product reviews mean advertising, and these days, companies are eager to send out invitations to VIP parties and fashion shows, and packages of the latest mascara or body cream.

Erika Valente, beauty editor of Makeup Bag, receives a “good amount” of samples, she said. But she’s not scooping up the freebies just for the sake of it. It’s a serious commitment that she works hard for; for more than a year, Valente has been posting regularly on Makeup Bag, sometimes twice a day. Lately, makeupbag.net has been pulling in 185,000 hits monthly. “If I could ever become a beauty editor full time, ” Valente said, “it would be a dream come true.”

A few years ago, makeup companies weren’t sure what to make of these beauty blogs, the earliest of which were just beginning to make a name for themselves.

“A lot of people were just thinking they were unreputable,” said a fashion industry spokeswoman who asked that her name not be printed. “They were kind of weary on sending a $150 product or a $75 shampoo over to them because they just figured they were just doing this for their own free spirit. ‘Who’s actually going to read it?’

“They’re taken a lot more seriously now.”

Feel free to click on the images above for a closer look at the article. A few of our friends were also quoted on the cover page of the paper, so we’re listing them here:

Listen Up! There’s a new tech-savvy breed of the media now welcome to venture past the runway. They’re beauty bloggers, and they have a lot to say:

www.talkingmakeup.com: “I got to test O-Glow Intuitive Cheek Color by Smashbox during L.A. Fashion Week, and once again, I’m in love. This blush is clear gel that turns to a perfect light pinkish, most natural blush. We add Smashbox Cosmetics to Talking Makeup’s most favorite makeup lines list.”

www.amominredhighheels.com: “Led by Gregory Arlt of MAC Cosmetics, the makeup for the Kelly Nishimoto show was romance through and through. the models were made up beautifully with ultra-dewy goddess skin, blushing cheeks and lips that ‘look like she just ate the most delicious blackberries.’ So pretty!”

www.thejetsetgirls.com: “One of our personal highlights of L.A. Fashion Week was getting to meet Davis Factor, one of the founders of Smashbox Cosmetics, who was instrumental in bringing Fashion Week to L.A. five years ago (the shows are held at Smashbox Studios). He’s such a force in the industry, we know that when he’s excited about something, it has to be big!”

Special thanks to Sylvia Masuda, the LA Newspaper Group and Total Beauty for including us in this piece!